METAL VAPOR CONDENSATION IN A CONVERGING NOZZLE

The nucleation and growth of a zinc vapor/particle mixture in convergi ng nozzles are analytically and experimentally studied. The pressure, temperature, velocity and growth distributions along the nozzle are ca lculated. The effects of nozzle initial pressures and nozzle half angl es on the nucleation and, therefore, on size distribution of the exiti ng particles are analyzed. The nucleation process is also experimental ly studied with a linear nozzle of different initial vapor temperature s. The produced metallic particles are examined by Scanning Electron M icroscopy (SEM), and the size distributions are obtained. Comparisons of experimental results with the analysis are made.